Afghan Size Calculator

How to figure out your sizing for your afghan.

Afghan Sizing Customized For You

How to do you figure out afghan sizes? I have created a formula to help you achieve the chain counts needed to get to the sizes you need. The formula will also calculate stitch sets for those who require a pattern, such as a wave afghan to stay in balance for stitches.

Sizes of afghans have been provided in the equation for those interested to know the standard sizes of crochet afghans. I have included everything from receiving blanket sizes to king size. I have included the drape and non-drape of the afghans for those who are looking for that.

For my calculator, you will need to a measuring tape to give me a few dimensions. Due to everyone having their own gauge for stitching, this formula will adjust to your own tension to provide you accurate details.

I have noticed the last few times I have come to your website to use the calculator that it is just gone. All I see is the text you have posted on using it and the comments people have left. I really liked using your calculator! 🙁

if making a C2C blanket for about a twin size blanket/afghan how many rows do i do in increasing b4 I start to decrease?-Have searched everywhere but cant figure it out-i believe it could be appro 90 rows? ty in advance

C2C is the easiest pattern to use and accurately predict the size of your blanket. You increase both ends until you get your length or width. Let’s say you keep increasing until you get your width of your blanket, then you will not longer increase that end but keep increasing the other end until you have your length. Then you will not be increasing either end and your work will be decreasing by two blocks per row until you just end up with one block.

I just finished one that measured 50″ x 60″ using Bernat Premium yarn. It is a medium weight but not worsted. It took about 2300 yards of yarn. I am not sure how many yards the Red Heart Soft comes in, but this might give you an idea. The skeins I used were 5 oz., 256 yards per skein. Hope this helps.

I think this is a great tool, but the only problem I have is I want to make a Laprobe that does not require many stitches. Our crochet group is making lap robes and I thought I would do the “Box” stitch pattern. It does not tell you how many stitches to chain for a lap robe. Yarn , yarn bee Soft Secret and I am using a size H hook. I don’t have a lap robe pattern but I hope you can help.

This is my first-ever post on this site even though I’ve been crocheting regularly for 10 years as of this year. Good for you for including this calculator! 🙂 I’m a closeted math geek, and I appreciate calculators in general. If I need this one, I know where to come. 🙂

i am making a blanket for a California king size bed i’m using Caron cake yarn with a size h crochet hook and i am doing half double crochet with a chain two at the end. how many balls of yarn will i need to get my blanket to 72×84 inches?

It depends on what size and brand of yarn you are using. I’m currently making a queen with drape, also in waffle/basket weave, using two strands of Aran held together. The yarn I’m using is 100 grams and 140 yards per hank. I calculated that I would need 28 hanks of each of my two colors, which equals just under 4000 yards per color. So if you are using a bulky or super bulky, that would be about 4000 yards. If you are going to double strand, it’s about 8000 yards. After you chose your yarn, find out how many yards are in each skein or hank and divide 4000/8000 by that number. That will tell you how many skeins/hanks you need. I hope that helps!

Cathy, I seen your question about how much yarn for a queen waffle. I also have the same question. Please let me know if you could.
Donna Morris ( Facebook)
Onemoretime 8892@yahoo.com
Either way is fine. Thanks so much.

The calculator was intended for Afghan Sizes – at this time there is not a calculator available for How much yarn does it take…. That would depend upon all the different types of patterns, yarn, hook size and personal tension. I would suggest looking at patterns close to what you are making and go from there. – LJ

This is the most helpful item come across and would just estimate.
I’m starting to use the knitting board. For one thing I don’t have to worry about adding or looking a stitch. I wanted to know how many skeins of 127 yds in one skein for king size with no drape. Is there much difference between with drape or without drape for king size?

Hello dear! I don’t have the exact answer for you, but I am doing a c2c myself right now and I just finished the row that makes it 36″ on the straight edge. I’m using Caron Cakes yarn and a size J hook and there are 41 squares on the third side. I’m trying to figure it out too and don’t know if this will help, but hopefully you can use mine to figure out yours.

Sorry, I don’t know the answer to that unless I do it myself and figure it out. Unfortunately, I am short of time to make this afghan to give you this information. There’s no magic formula of afghan size changes to get the yarn needed for difference sizes.

The original size is 32 X 60 = 1,920 sq inches. If it calls for 6 skeins, then you’re able to crochet 1,920/6 = 320 sq inches of blanket per 1 skein. But the size you want is 69 X 90 = 6,210 sq inches. So 6,210/320 = 19 skeins needed. Who says we don’t use math in “real life”?

This is a pretty good tool. There is a problem with it though. When figuring the width for the starting chain, it does not take into account how many stitches you need for a set. It wants to be exactly the width you choose.

So for example the pattern I’m using is in sets of 14, my 4″ chain is 12 chains or 3 chains per inch. to make a blanket that’s 39″ wide I need 117 chains according to the calculator. However my pattern will be cut off because 14 stitches*8 pattern repeats=112 chains which is 37 1/3″ wide or 14 stitches*9 pattern repeats=126 chains which is 42″ wide.

The tool isn’t perfect but it helped me figure out that I need to either make 8 or 9 repeats in my pattern for what I’m making. I’m sure the row height will be pretty spot on but I can always measure it to double check.

This is a great tool! Thank you so much for sharing this with us. I am making a rainbow ripple afghan for my brother in queen size with drape. Having this calculator was an immense help to me especially knowing how many rows I will need. It will be a great help in choosing the color pattern. You guys are the best!

I’m hoping that this will help me, but before I can even begin I need a question answered please. I don’t understand what you mean by stitch sets. I taught myself to crochet from a book 30 years ago. I dropped it for awhile and picked it up again about 6 years ago. I’ve got hundreds of patterns from store bought books to freebies online and I’ve never seen anything about stitch sets and nothing that mentions + anything. Most of them have gauges, but I don’t think that’s what you mean. Also, is there a way to make the adjustment on the patterned border to match the change in size for the blanket? I appreciate any help you can give me.

Stitch set is the number of stitches needed to complete the pattern in a row. When a pattern calls for a “multiple” of a number, for instance a multiple of 8, this means it will take 8 stitches to see the pattern before its repeated in the row.

I need to do a Afghan for a King size bed..going to do it in a Granny Square design and I need to figure out how many skeins of yarn I will need to order..there are 6 different colors I will be using..

I’m so confused with the calculator, as I follow the instructions. I enter that the height of 3 rows, which is 1.345. But then the box say to only enter ‘Please enter digits only’. Why is it not working for me? What have I done wrong?

Hi Mikey
I am teaching my self to crochet n would like to make a bed spread for my queen size bed. Measurements are 60×80…….I am not good at calculating as of yet. The Bedspread pattern I would like to use is the Chevron/ ripple pattern…….any help is much appreciated! Ty.

There is no way to answer the question, “how many chains” for anything. It all depends on the yarn weight, hook size, how big you want it… etc.
This article may help you. http://thecrochetcrowd.com/afghan-sizes/

Please help! I’m doing a temp blanket for a king size bed with drape 6 in on each side… I’m not sure how many rows to do for each day to get correct length of 365 days… I’m doing the SC Indian tears drop stitch…

Typically for a Temperature Blanket you will crochet one row per day. Keep in mind that many afghan patterns will not be 365 rows long, so you will have to make it wider than your “standard” afghan to keep the proportions right. Mikey’s calculator may help in figuring out how wide to make it.

I am starting my Temperature blanket tonight, and had also decided on the Apache Tears pattern. 🙂 Happy Hookin!

To better estimate how much yarn you need you can work a full section before a repeat if its a repeating pattern. Weigh the 1st repeat them multiply that number buy the total repeats. If your pattern is using different colors you can estimate what percent of the repeat is for each color then multiply the percent by the ounces and then the ounces for each color by the repeats. It may not be exact but it will be close my rule is to buy just one more than what I calculated just to be on the safe side.
For example your pattern has 7 repeats after working to the end of the first repeat then weigh your work its, weight was 2 oz, 2oz X 7 would be 14 ounces or yarn needed.
same example with 3 colors and 7 repears. color A is 50% color B is 25% and color C is 25% the repeat of the 3 colors still weighs 2 oz for color A you mutiply 2 oz X 50% =1 oz, 1 oz x 7 = 7 oz , Color A & B both calculated the same mutiply 2 oz x 25% = .5 oz, .5 oz x 7 = 3.5 oz

So for figuring out the length needed the instructions say to make a swatch of four rows, measure three rows and enter it as a decimal where 1″ =1, 3/4″ = .75 , 1/2″ = 0.5 etc… When I made my swatch I get 3/4″ which is equal to .75…. the calculator won’t accept any numbers with decimals in it. Therefore won’t give a length for the blanket that I would like to make. Any help would be appreciated!! I believe this is the same issue Dana was encountering and inquiring about on Jan. 3 as well.

Mikey
Your calculator still does not accept decimals for the 3 rows. If I do hdc and sc rows, 3 rows will equal .75. If I change my hook, and do all hdc then its 1″. 1″ gives me 300 rows. However I am doing the temperature afghan and its all hdc in the pattern. I was thinking of trying to do the highs and the lows together but really think I need to scrap that idea! I want to make this for a king size bed. I am close with the hdc at 1″ for 3 rows but adding the extra 66 rows will make it too long. Will the hdc then sc row alternative work for a king size length?

the calculator is good, however it does not calculate how many skeins of yarn you would need. Im no math guru, but I think there must be a way to plug in hook and yarn size to come up with # of skeins.

Well I think this is a great tool, but let me tell you how I figure out my size (s) I take a length of old yarn and measure it out to the width and if it is for a double (full) bed I measure down the side too (some folks are wider than others) then lets say my pattern stitch is multiples of 3 plus 4 I then just chain in 3’s until I get to the width of my ‘measuring yarn’ I then add 4. to check the count I count in 3’s and make sure there are 4 chains left.
As for how much yarn I will need I find a similar size and pattern somewhere in a book or online and see what is recommended and add 1 or 2 more skeins. ( you can usually return extras, but I keep them all to later make a ‘crazy quilt’ using all different patterns for my squares and sew them on the outside using the blanket stitch, all different sizes of yarn and if they are finer than the heaviest I mix 2 strands tog regardless of colour.
Sometimes I take some old fabric or even a sheet and sew my crochet onto that (sewing machine and tissue paper) i can then use it pretty much anywhere as anything, coverlet, rug, back of car as emergency blanket.
Or just give it to someone who is plain cold. It is the fun of creating that spurs me on, I do not keep the ones i do not need for gifts. sometimes they are small and sometimes big. Who really cares if there are 4-5 extra or less stitches…. give yourself some slack, I find when the need for perfection crawls in the love of creation and joy of crochet or knitting or sewing becomes a chore and the fun goes out the window…. I do strive for perfection in anything I do but obsession is not part of my vocabulary… 🙂
Many times over history you see that an error has become a great discovery!
Oh, I shall also add here that in my 50 odd years of crochet (learned from a book) I have NEVER used a chain 3 at the end of a row, too messy too loopy, I just make a double crochet and then turn my work, neater sides for me anyway…
Maybe this is not as precise as this wonderful calculation is but I always had to figure things out for myself and math is so not one of my finer skills…. perhaps my methods will help you or not, but just remember it has to be fun, use your imagination let the creator inside, out and don’t worry one stitch here or there will never be noticed. If it is, get new friends!! LOL!

Hurrah for Leslie! Being willing to think for yourself and not expect someone else to do all the work for you is rare these days. I cringe when I see some of these comments, so yours is very refreshing!

Well said Leslie! what is the fun of crocheting if everything is figured out for you! I follow a pattern but if I want it bigger or smaller I figure it out if it comes out right good for me if not it’s handmade whatta want LOL. It still works! Don’t be so picky that you go in a tizzy over it.

I thought this calculator was amazing, but when I tried to return a few days later(because I’m OCD and wanted to double check my measurements) the calculator section of the article was missing. Was it removed for some reason? I’m using the same browser I was using last time.

Wonderful tool, thank you! When entering the decimal amount for 3 rows (.75), the next box calculates rows per inch @ .25, which is the height of one row. Rows per inch should be 4? Doesn’t matter, the total rows needed to complete the project is accurate.

Ok, question. I read a pattern that was originally for knitters, but someone gives a general outline of how to do the same pattern for crochet. They said to chain enough to length to make 70 inches. Is there a calculation for that? As in how many sc in an inch? or how many sc in 70 inches?

Or do I just single crochet and keep measuring the length till I get to to 70 inches on a measuring tape? Kind of wondering if I am overthinking this!? Help!

This is a great tool, thank you so much! On the section that calculates the length based on your row height, I’m finding an error when you try to enter a number with a decimal. For example, I’m trying to enter 2.25, but a yellow bubble pops up saying “Please enter only digits.” Despite the error, it does appear that it’s calculating correctly – still, it seems like something that should be fixed or clarified. Thanks again!

This is a wonderful aid! Thank you, Mikey for developing it. Unfortunately the Print and PDF creator only provide one page. We get none of the actual calculator. When you have time (Yes, I know you’re incredibly busy) would you please look into this problem? Thanks so much!

Hi! I’ve just decided to crochet myself a blanket, because mine just aren’t warm enough. I’m looking for the EASIEST, most fool-proof patterns. I’m not looking to create the Mona Lisa on my first go. Lol But I’m reading the directions, and it’s a whole other language to me. How do I decipher it?

Have you tried the Tunisian stitch? It is an incredibly easy stitch! There is almost no counting involved, which is my biggest problem with crochet. The fabric that it creates is very dense and warm. It is almost like knit. I am a super impatient crotcher, and this works up so fast. I have a wooden Tunisian hook, that I made myself, but I have seen them available online. I take anywhere from 2 to 4 skeins, depending on the size and can have a blanket completed in a weekend. No pattern needed, either. You just chain your desired width and make rows until you’ve reached your desired length. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Also, I wanted to add that I hold all the skeins together at one. I visited this site, cause I wanted see how many more rows I needed to go and it shows that I needed to chain 72 and make 36 rows for a baby blanket. My hook is a size Q. Super super fast blanket.

Funny how you develop an awesome tool to help people figure things out on their own, only to get flooded with more questions! You should have a help desk- I wonder how many questions you’d get in a day. Thanks for the great tool !

We have a help desk but are so overwhelmed by it. There are so many questions of people asking us to do searching and other items where people can invest a little time of Google and find the resources. We find by the time we get back to someone, they already found their answer. It’s easy to email for help than it is to do some time investment of their own. Only so much we can do.

How true; was reading comments on the Facebook post with the hat challenge, Rachel’s pink one and there were at least 12 people asking for the pattern! Sigh, I can imagine how that can eat up your time. Thank you for the grat web site and amazing patterns. i’ve just found you and am in love! All my best.

I think the math in the calculator is off… I told it that my pattern repeat is in units of 24 stitches +2 to turn, and it somehow spit out an odd number of starting chains. An even number plus an even number is even. An even number times any number is still even.

There is a space under “Crochet a 6″ Chain. Now only measure the middle portion of the chain with a distance of 4″ and tell me how many chains are in that 4″ section.” for you to type your answer into then you select the width ans it will tell you how many chains. There is also a space under “If you are working on sets of stitches to acheive your width. Here is your chain count with the added extra chains.” for you type in your answer and another space under “Measuring the height of 3 rows only. What is that height in decimal format. Example 3/4″ = 0.75, 1″ = 1, 1 1/4″ = 1.25” and then you select your desired length and it tells you how many rows per inch and how many rows you need to complete your afghan. It is not set up like a traditional looking calculator and the spaces are very light so they blend into the page but they are there.

Love that you took such time and thought in providing this calculator! Would you be able to do a tutorial on how to figure out the multiples of a stitch pattern if the pattern does not specify this information? With that info it would be easy to alter about any pattern to come up with a proper size for any pattern. Thanks so much Mikey!

U might not have the proper number of stitches per set..for example I am making a wave afghan that starts with and ends with 2 triple decreases so to make up for this I simply ignore one of them or my afghan will reduce in size every single row I continue.

Sounds like you may be loosing stitches. One trick I use is to put a marker at the first stitch of each row… ( A long piece of contrasting yarn works great – and just move it up under the loops of the first stitch each row).
This way I am sure I am going all the way to the end of the row

Thanks so much for this calculator Mikey. I did a Granny Square afghan for my Uncle and had to keep running back and forth to our bed to make sure it would fit right. This will be so much easier to do than the way I did it lol

Hello Mikey, I totally love this yarn calculator as I’m a dummy when it comes to math and I totally love your videos I have learned alot from them, you are a great teacher. My question is this: I want to crochet a chevron king size blanket, I have figured out I’d need 211 ch. across 76″ width and 160 rows 80″ length. I don’t know how to find out how many skeins of yarn I’d need I’m using red heart 4 med. and I’m planning on using size ‘N’ 9.0 hook. Please help me figure this out and thank you in advance.

Terry, I’ve done a couple C2C afghans, and I believe Mikey states it in the video… But once you reach a width you want…. You just don’t add onto that side anymore….and continue all the rest until you reach th length you wanted. If that makes any sense…

love this!!! for those who are freaked my Math, let me break it down to steps…there’s only 10. As an example let’s say were making a baby blanket 36 inch square, ok , here we go..Step 1- ch 6 inches, now what are the number(#) of chains(ch) in 4 inches(“), in my example there are 20. Step 2- if the is a pattern calls for repeats or has multiples or sets in the project ,what is that number… in my example there are 8. Step 3- Number of chains(ch) at end of row for turning …in my example 2 ch. Step 4- making a baby blanket= 36 inches …so 20 ch (from step 1)= 4 inches and the blanket is 36 in , so 4 inches X ? = 36 the answer is 9. Step 5- total number of chains needed for width 20 ch X 9 = 80 ch. Step 6- add turning ch…80 ch width + 2 ch= 82 ch total for the width. Step 7- Now for the height with the swatch made up 4 rows, measure how tall 3 rows are … in my example 3 rows = 2 inches. Step 8 – the baby blanket is 36 inches. Step 9- find out the number of rows per inch…in my example we take 2 inches (step 7) divided by 3(for 3 rows = .6667 height per row. Step 10 ow take the height you need in the project , in my project , the baby blanket is 36 inches now divide by the decimal you got in Step 9 36/ .6667 = 53.97 or 54 rows height.

Do you have or know of any resources that can teach me how to create my own patterns? I am confused on if it matters how much you chain. Do the chains need to be even and then you add 2 or 3 depending on the stitch you are using?

I suck at math. Hate it , can’t stand it , gives me anxiety. I had terrible teachers who only helped the smart kids.
I just crochet what I like. If I need math , I ask my husband. This doesn’t make sense to me because I can’t see it in motion so to speak. I would like to see an example.

sorry for the mix up in the other post I get page one which is the picture and 2 paragraphs of words- ‘this calculator will help you figure ……….. – I will try to copy and paste since the PDF does not work

Mikey! Thanks for creating this calculator! It makes crocheting almost foolproof. It’s SO NICE that for ANY size blanket I can determine just how long to make my foundation row (i.e. how many chains I should start with). To create any size blanket, ALL I HAVE TO DO is crochet a swatch, as per your instructions above. I just plug the numbers into the appropriate boxes and ¡Voila! It gives me the number of chains to start with and the number of rows needed to finish it! My 3rd grader has just learned to crochet and she loves your calculator too!! 😉

Sounds like a wonderful tool that would help me tremendously if I could find where to download. So this is what I’ve got oh crochet god: 6″ chain (using a H hook) – 25 stitches ——–2″ mid portion 9 ch. My intent is to come up with a 12 square (not a granny) . I have visualized what I want if I could only telepathically transmit. I just need to estimate the yardage for my creation. If I can get what a 12″ sq needed I can go from there. Math was never my strong suit. HELP? 🙂

I want to make a C2C blanket for an 18 month old little girl. I have 2 Skeins of Red Heart Pink Camo that comes in 230 yards or 211 m. How big of an afghan can I make? I’m not very good at math and not sure what # I need to put in each spot for the calculator to tell me! HELP! Please & Thank you in advance!

Thank you Mikey for explaining that to me,I would never of thought that’s what it means.

I have another question for you, I want to make a queen sized blanket . The measurement is 96 inches. The blanket is straight single crochet, no ripple or wave. Would I chain 96 chains or add 4 more for the turning chain?

I am making a square to make simple slippers it says that according to my yarn abc hook size…• Crochet gauge in sc, size I-9 (5.5mm) hook: 12 sc and 15 rows = 4″ (10cm. I needed 17 sc to make 6 inch slippers. How many rows do I need to complete the square. I have 20 so far. Thank you so much! Do you have a calculator for me to figure out how many sc and rows I need to obtain a 6 inch square! Crochet gauge in sc, size I-9 (5.5mm) hook: 12 sc and 15 rows = 4″ (10cm
Another words if • Crochet gauge in sc, size I-9 (5.5mm) hook: 12 sc and 15 rows = 4″ (10cm. How many of each make 6″? I know I must sound pretty dumb right now, but I was told to fold it corner to corner in a triangle to see if I have a square. I would rather know the correct answer. Thanks again!

12 sc =4″ so divide 12 by 4 getting 3. So for every inch it takes 3sc. 6 inches would be 18sc.
The rows are harder since 15 divided by 4 does not come out even. 15 divided by 4 is 3.75 so every 3.75 rows would be an inch. 3.75 times 6 equals 22.5 rows. This is the math, but don’t know how to do the 22.5 rows. 😉